Back To Bloodshed: The Tough Guy Behind Sharon

It's not as though Ariel Sharon is reluctant to listen to a hard line on security, but it helps when the tough talk comes from someone he trusts. Sharon's Mr. Security is Avi Dichter, head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic spy and security service. (The Mossad handles foreign intelligence.) According to Israeli intelligence officials, he has had a more profound effect on the Prime Minister's handling of Palestinian terrorists than any other adviser. "He has the Prime Minister's ear," says a senior Israeli security official. With 27 years' service in the Shin Bet, the mild-looking Dichter, who once worked as...

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